


The Sun Came Out Today

by driftingashes



Series: ThVi Works (Because We Need More ThVi Content) [1]
Category: Cartoon Therapy (Web Series), Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Bittersweet Ending, Don’t Like Don’t Read, Everyone Is Gay, Falling In Love, Fluff and Angst, Human AU, Implied/Referenced Character Death, M/M, No Smut, One Shot, Other Additional Tags to Be Added
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-10
Updated: 2019-11-10
Packaged: 2021-02-01 04:24:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,919
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21376153
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/driftingashes/pseuds/driftingashes
Summary: Thomas hesitated, a blush dusting his cheeks with a soft pink glow. “I...don’t take this the wrong way, but do you have any plans this afternoon? I was going to make cookies with my brother and dad, and I’m sure they’d love to meet you, ah…?” he trailed off suggestively, and Virgil allowed a tiny smile to slip onto his face.“Virgil Glass.”“I’m Thomas. Thomas Sanders,” Thomas said, smiling. “So, about those cookies?
Relationships: Anxiety | Virgil Sanders/Logic | Logan Sanders, Anxiety | Virgil Sanders/Thomas Sanders
Series: ThVi Works (Because We Need More ThVi Content) [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1541026
Comments: 11
Kudos: 46





	The Sun Came Out Today

**April 14th, 2005 (Year 16)**

“The sun came out today,” the boy beside him mumbled, almost as if speaking to himself. Virgil glanced at him, frowning, and the boy smiled at him, bright brown eyes sparkling with mischief and childlike wonder. “Spring is on its way. My name’s Thomas. You come here often?”

Virgil shook his head, still transfixed by those beautiful swirling eyes. Thomas winked, grinning slyly. “Like what you see?” he asked boldly, raising an eyebrow. Virgil flushed, lowering his eyes, stuttering out a half-formed apology. “I was just teasing, I didn’t mean to offend you,” Thomas gasped, placing a hand on his shoulder. “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize you weren't gay,” he continued.

Virgil startled. “N-no! No, it’s not that!” he exclaimed, wincing at how loud his voice was. He lowered it to a more normal tone, shrugging apologetically. “No, I...I’m gay, I just…” he paused. “I’m not used to people flirting with me, and I didn’t want to assume anything. Y’know? My brother - Patton, he’s wonderful - told me to be careful around this town.”

Thomas nodded. “Makes sense. This area especially is unfortunately well known for the many homophobic shits that live in and around this dump. I’ll have you know I’m not one of them, obviously. Uh…” Thomas hesitated, a blush dusting his cheeks with a soft pink glow. “I...don’t take this the wrong way, but do you have any plans this afternoon? I was going to make cookies with my brother and dad, and I’m sure they’d love to meet you, ah…?” he trailed off suggestively, and Virgil allowed a tiny smile to slip onto his face.

“Virgil. Virgil Glass.”

“I’m Thomas. Thomas Sanders,” Thomas repeated, smiling. “So, about those cookies?”

**….**

**July 17th, 2008 (Year 19)**

“The sun came out today,” Thomas cheered over the phone, laughing. Virgil could hear Patton in the background, yelling something to Thomas’s older brother (Virgil never could remember his name, it was some abbreviation of Remington, as the boy hated his full given name) about chocolate chips and flour. He laughs along with him, not quite genuine, wishing Thomas were with him, but relishing in the feeling of the sun on his back. “I almost forgot what warmth felt like,” he joked, and Virgil laughed for real that time.

“College is boring, but the sun’s out over here as well.  Probably a lot warmer here than there, though," he teased, and Thomas groaned, sticking his tongue out at the camera. Virgil giggled, returning the action. "I wish you were here," he remarked, suddenly serious. Thomas’s smile dropped, and he glanced at the ground.

“Yeah. Me too.”

Virgil didn’t say anything after that, unsure of how to continue, and the rest of the call was spent in silence.

**….**

**June 23rd, 2011 (Year 22)**

“I do.” Thomas’ voice was loud, strong, unwavering. He was so sure of himself, and Virgil was such an anxious  _ mess _ , why would Thomas ever want  _ him _ \- He shook his head, focusing back in, Thomas’s brown eyes meeting his grounding him. He took a deep breath, allowing himself to get lost in the depths of his fiance’s (husband’s?) captivating eyes.

He barely heard the next part, but Thomas nudged him, and he looked up sharply, tears gathering in his eyes. “I do,” he whispered, voice breaking, and he nearly flung himself at Thomas when he was finally,  _ finally _ allowed to kiss him. The only thing holding him back was the crowd...which was probably a good thing.

**….**

**April 26th, 2013 (Year 25)**

They named their son Emile. He was already almost two years old, and his big brown eyes blinked up at them sleepily from where he was nestled in Virgil’s arms contentedly. He looked over at Thomas, who had his eyes fixed on their child.  _ Their child _ . Stars, that was going to take some getting used it. “God, he’s so perfect,” Thomas whispered. “Just like you.”

Virgil blushed, still staring at Emile. “He’s ours. All we need to do is sign the forms, and he’s ours,” he replied, voice low and shocked.

“He’s ours,” Thomas repeated. “He’s ours.”

Emile gurgled, low in his throat, reaching up to wrap one tiny hand around Thomas’s pinky, blinking sleepily up at him. Thomas could have sworn his heart melted. “Awww, look, he already likes us, Vee!” he exclaimed, glancing up apologetically at the nurse when they jumped, startled at the sudden squeal.

They waved him off with a smile, saying, “Mr. Sanders, I’ve been working here for years, and I can jump right into action when a heart monitor flat lines, but let me tell you, if there’s one sound I’ll never get used to, it’s the sound of a new father seeing his child for the first time. In fact, the first time I ever heard a man make a sound higher pitched than my daughter’s screaming, I nearly hit the ceiling.”

Virgil laughed behind his hand, and the nurse’s eyes crinkled in amusement. “Well, Mr…” Thomas started, trailing off when he couldn’t find a name tag.

“Kai Scott. They/them, if you don’t mind. Pleasure to meet you,” the nurse exclaimed cheerily, extending their hand to shake Thomas’s. “I took my badge off a few minutes ago, guess I forgot to put it back on,” they continued, reaching into their pocket. Pulling their ID card out with a flourish, they clipped it back onto the front of their coat.

“Well then, Mx. Scott, thank you for helping us through this,” Thomas continued happily. He sent a nervous glance towards Virgil and the still sleeping Emile. “I’m afraid we don’t have much experience in this childcare business yet.”

Kai laughed. “Yes, well, you’ll find it’s a very rewarding experience, if you can get through the first six months. This little one is going on two and a half, so you’ll have missed a couple milestones, but...well, he had it pretty rough. Didn’t even have a name. I heard you’re calling him Emile?”

“Yes,” Virgil answered, glancing up at his husband and the doctor. “Emile.”

“Perfect,” Kai whispered. “He’s an angel, he really is. And fortunately, the doctors who saw him when you first brought him in with the social worker predict little to no brain damage or trauma from the after events of his...previous caretakers. Won’t call them his parents. They didn’t earn that title. If I hadn't sworn to follow the Hippocratic Oath throughout my career...well.” His eyes, which had hardened at the mention of Emile’s former guardians, softened again, the bright, welcoming spark returning to them. “You don’t want to know, I’m sure. Let’s get you all ready to get discharged, shall we?”

The new parents happily agreed.

**….**

**February 21st, 2015 (Year 26)**

“The sun came out today,” Thomas yawned as he lay down beside Virgil, curling his arms around him, already half asleep. Virgil grinned, pulling him closer, agreeing almost silently. “It was nice. Wish it would have lasted longer, but you know how it is around here. I miss Florida.”

“We didn’t have to move,” Virgil whispered back. He felt Thomas exhale against the back of his neck. They both knew it was a lie, but Thomas didn’t say anything more, just nuzzled against Virgil and fell asleep, effectively accidentally ending the conversation. “I love you, Thomas,” Virgil murmured into the dark, closing his eyes and drifting off.

**….**

**September 19th, 2017 (Year 28)**

“The sun came out today,” Thomas chirped, the static on the phone line distorting his voice a bit. Virgil pulled the phone back, glaring at it.

“This connection sucks,” he complained, rolling his eyes, although he knew Thomas couldn’t see his dramatic reaction. He heard Thomas start to reply, but before he could, there was a scream, a gunshot, and the call cut out, leaving nothing but the buzz of an open phone line. “Thomas? Thomas!”

The news came in a few hours later. There had been a shooting on the street Thomas had been walking along when Virgil had called him. Thomas hadn’t survived. If he had waited five more minutes to call his husband, he would have been a block over by the time the man started firing blindly into the crowd, killing seventeen innocent people, and injuring five more. The casualty count was “much lower than normal given the recent rise in casualties from shootings in the state,” a pretty blonde newscaster announced. She hurried through the section, moving on to the weather as soon as she could, shrugging off the murders, skipping briefly through another shooting just a few blocks to the east. Killing people was now normal. It was already old news, and nobody cared if a few people had been murdered just because some idiot had a gun.

Virgil turned the TV off, staring at the blank black screen, meeting his reflection’s shocked eyes. Thomas was gone.

**….**

**October 31st, 2021 (Year 32 - Virgil)**

“The sun came out today. Which is weird, because they said in the forecast it was gonna be cloudy and rainy. I guess rain would have ruined the Halloween stuff they have set up downtown, though. Too many paper decorations. I mean...well, anyways. I...I hope you’re...someplace better than here. We miss you. A...a lot. Emile’s off to college now. And that cat is back again. I swear she’s never going to leave me alone, that cat will steal my soul one day,” Virgil joked lightly, tears still falling despite his best efforts to remain impassive.

**….**

**April 24th, 2022 (Year 33 - Virgil)**

“The sun came out today,” Virgil whispered, tears slipping down his cheeks as he reached out to brush his fingers along the worn edge of the gravestone, the rough trough of the inscription scraping his fingers, leaving a bit of torn skin. He pulled back slightly, examining the drop of blood on his finger with mild curiosity. Flicking his fingers, he turned back to the grave, tracing the grooves of the carved letters, as he had almost every day for the past four years.

_ Thomas Sanders _

_ April 24th 1989 - September 19th, 2017. _

_ “It’s kind of fun to do the impossible.” _

“I wish you’d have been here to see it. The whole sky lit up and there was a halo around that damn cat in the backyard. I think she’s adopted me, Thomas. I named her Emily. She’s such a tiny little cat, black with little grey paws. She reminds me of Emile somehow. I think it’s something in the way she bounces around. She never runs out of energy, even though she’s just a teeny kitten. Just like Emile used to. Are you watching him from wherever you are now? He’s a therapist now. He’s done so well, and I couldn’t be prouder of him.” He stopped to take a breath, lowering his head and wiping away his tears, sniffling. “I met someone. His name is Logan. I think you would’ve liked him, Thomas. He makes me happy. I’ll miss you every single day for the rest of my life, but I think I want to marry him someday. If you can hear me, please...don’t think I’ve forgotten you. I’ll never be able to forget you, Thomas, even if I try.” He started to move back, but stopped looking back down at the grave. “Happy birthday, Thomas. I love you.”

He never did mention it to Roman, or Remy, or even to Patton, but he could have sworn he heard Thomas laugh as he turned and walked away.

_ fin. _


End file.
